The Mask Of The Monster - Chapter 117

(From Ella’s Perspective)

When I arrived, Dad was taking a nap on the couch. I covered him up with a blanket and went back to my room. Leandro was still standing on the road. I felt proud and wanted to say, “That’s my boyfriend, that handsome man.”

I wrote him a note and threw it at him. And he mouthed, “I love you.” This sweet gesture seemed to make my day.

After he left, I closed the curtains and jumped on the bed. I could not believe we finally did it. But I was glad that I tried to act boldly about this one. I did not want to hide my feelings any longer.

Now that I thought about it, he said something about not finding a file. “I even forgot to give you the brown file in which I kept the drawings of the route to the palace for you. Well, you don’t need them now since you are staying at your dad’s place anyway. But I can’t find my other brown file as well,” he had said.

“What’s in it?” I had asked.

He had suddenly blushed and replied, “Just a few important things.”

Perhaps he did not actually intend to give me that file. He kept it for him. Somehow, he messed up and ended up giving me that file by mistake. And he had no idea that it was with me and I knew what was inside it.

I did not tell him the truth. For some reason, I felt like I had seen something I should not have. Now I needed to think of a way to get it back to him without him finding out that I knew about it.

I heard a knock on the door suddenly. “Who is it?” I asked.

“It’s me,” Jed replied. “Open the door. I brought snacks.”

I got off the bed and opened the door. Jed had a stupid smile on his face that clearly showed what he was thinking. But most importantly, he brought chicken. That was the only reason I let him in.

“Heh, I know something happened, especially when Lee sent me that letter in the morning,” he said with a wide grin as I closed the door. “Didn’t something happen? I am right, right?”

“Wow, you brought orange chicken,” I muttered, opening the box.

“Forget about that,” he said impatiently. “Tell me what you guys did. Did you just talk like always? Or a bit touchy-feely?”

“Try to guess.”

“I think you guys got a bit intimate and then fell asleep late. That’s why he sent me that letter.”

“Wrong,” I said.

“Don’t tell me you guys just talked,” he grumbled. “I will take the chicken back then.”

“Actually… We did it.”

“N-No way! No fucking way! Really? You really did it?!”

“Stop shouting, jeez!”

“How was it? Was it good?”

“Yeah, it was good,” I said. “I thought it would be painful since it was my first time. But it was not that painful. I mean, it was bearable.”

“Was he good at it?”

“Well, he is the first person I did it with. But even so, I think he was really good at it,” I said. “But he was controlling himself a lot, it seems.”

“As expected of someone like him. He wouldn’t dare to break you, of course,” he said.

Talking to Jed was easy. And I could talk to him about everything. Both of us were very free with each other. Having a friend like that was more necessary than I thought. And now I could understand how important of a role Jed played in my life.

“Who started it?” he asked. He surely had planned to know about every single detail.

“I confessed to him first,” I said. “I thought that if I delayed more, it might be too late. And I did not want to waste any more time.”

“Then?”

“Well, then we did it. He said he loves me too.”

“Even if he had not said it, it was clear. Or why the hell would someone take care of another person to that extent?”

“Yeah… I am quite lucky, huh?”

“Of course! You should try your best to keep this relationship. Actually, both of you need each other. He is someone who knew all his life that he did not belong to his own family. He was not loved and he was despised being called a monster. And thus, he did not even get the chance to think about love. While you also had a family who did not care about you. If you think carefully, both of you were alone. And now, you are what he needs while he is what you need.”

Jed might be like a frightened kitten sometimes, he also said true facts. Leandro did not know what love meant, neither did I. We just existed in two different worlds, just breathing and nothing else. He had an ambition- he wanted to be the king. He wanted his power back. And that ambition led him forward.

I had a dream as well. I wanted to leave; I wanted to leave my home and go somewhere else. That was the only dream I had. I did not know what I could do and I was not a very talented person either. There were very limited things I could do. So, I only wanted to do something little and earn just enough to be able to live freely. That was the reason I was very eager to graduate.

Perhaps the desire to live by myself was so much that I forgot to care about anything else. Even after finding out that my mother’s boyfriend tried to kill me, I surprisingly did not feel much of a thing. I was like, “Ah, so it was him. That’s news.”

It must be after coming to this world that I found another desire; I wanted to survive. This world was full of dangerous creatures. And I was a mere human. But I wanted to live. That made me make a deal with a complete stranger and coax him to let me live with him.

He could have done something bad to me. Because I never thought that I was a woman as well, I did not fear much while being with him. At least, I was not confident enough. I always thought that I was not in the right shape since I was too slender while my breasts were pretty big. Never once, I thought that he would want me sexually. But I was proven wrong very early. Yet, I did not feel endangered when I was with him. Perhaps it was because he never forced me and always asked for my permission, except for our first kiss of course.

“You are right. I should try harder to make sure that we do not break apart,” I said. “I love him, I really do. It’s really hard to think about a life without him. I just don’t want to know what it would feel like.”

“That’s the spirit!” Jed exclaimed with his mouth full.

I laughed. I felt really happy. How long had it been since I started to laugh freely? It must be since the time I met Leandro, the love of my life.

Jed was in a tough position, but I did not mention it. He liked a boy named Miles, but it turned out that he was just playing with Jed. Jed got hurt and did not want to talk about Miles again. It got to the point that he lost interest in dating and did not even like to mention Miles.

But Jed liked to talk about me and Leandro. And he was the one who supported us the most and kept giving me suggestions as to what to do. He said that he liked talking about successful romantic relationships.

I felt very bad for him. Who would not like such an angel like my Jed? My friend was the best. He was good-looking, loyal, and perfect. What more did someone even need?

People were just blind. I knew that someday, he would find happiness as well. It did not matter if he found someone to love. Without a romantic relationship, people could still be happy. But in any way, if Jed was happy, I would support anything.

“I believe in you,” I said, patting Jed on the shoulder.

“What the? Why so suddenly? You are being creepy!”

“Haha, I know, right?” I laughed. Perhaps he did not know what I was saying, but I knew what I wanted. I just wanted my friend to be happy.

“That laugh is even creepier.”

“Thank you.”

“Only you will take it as a compliment.”

[Guys, find yourself a friend like Jed, who is like a scared kitty but can be quite reliable when needed.. And of course, also find a friend like Ella who will always stand up to you and support you. They are the perfect combination for best friend material]